Keeper device for door latches



Jan. 5, 1937. G. w. wELLs KEEPER DEVICE FOR DOOR LATCHES Filed Sept. 26, 1935 2 Sheqts-Sheet l 2 5 .am 5 M2 4 22K-w w q 75 5 3 /2 Z6 Mn m. rf., w T2 f u 0 2\Il/ .4J 7J 34 f1.1 M) v 11 2 a 5 mm mllnw 2 Il l l J, n n, n M 03|* 4 Jan. 5, 1937. G. w. WELLS 2,066,438

KEEPER DEVICE FOR DOOR LATCHES Filed sept. ze, 1935 A2 sheets-sheet 2 j?? bei? o:

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H55 thereof will be unnecessary.

Patented Jas/45, 1937 t 2,066,438'

UNITED sTATEs PATENT oFFlCE accusa xEErE DEVICE Fon noon-Luanne Y George W. Wells, Amesbury, Mass. Application september-2s, 1935, serial No. 42,220 s claims. (ci. 292-340) This invention relates to certain improvements The door is provided with the usual channel in the lock mechanism disclosed in my pendshaped metal edge pillar I8 and the latch opering application Serial No. 13,032 led March 26, ating means are mounted on a similarly shaped 1935. and more particularly. to the striker or metalv casing 2o, which is fitted into and secured keeper member thereof employed in connection to the inner side of said pillar. 5 therewith. A rigid, rectangularly shaped projection 22 is Said mechanism comprises a horizontally propermanently connected by welding to the midjecting, vertically movable latch member havdle portion of casing 20 and extends through a ing a jamb member engaging face on its top 'similarly shaped aperture formed in the face or 10- side, means being provided Aon the door for normiddle side of the pillar I8, which vforms the 10 I mally holding said member in a raised position edge of the door, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, in which it will engage the jamb member, said said projection 22 having a horizontal botmeans being movable to permit said latch memtom face which is arranged to engage the supber to be lowered and thus disengaged from the porting face of the striker casing as hereafter jamb member, to permit the door' to be opened. more fully described, so that the door will be 1'5 While the jamb member disclosed in my said rigidly supported thereby when closed. application operates satisfactorily, it has been The top portion of projection 22 whichextends found to be objectionable on account of the fact beyond the outer side of.\pillar I8 is cut away, that it contained an objectionable number of forming a notch having a horizontal top face 23 o parts, which unduly increased the cost of manand a vertical end face 24 thereon, which is apufacture and installation. proximately flush with the outer surface of the 'Ihe object of the present invention is to propillar I8, as shown in Fig. 1, and a -recess 25'is vide a simplified form of striker or keeper mechformed in said projection which extends from anism for my previously disclosed latch mechthe inner. side of casing and terminates at' ..5 anism whichwill be at least as effective and duthe front wall of said projection, said recess 25 rable as the form previously disclosed and which having a semi-cylindrical bottom and vertical` will be composed of fewer parts and may be sides extending to the top surface 23, so that the readily assembled and constructed at a reduced recess 25 opens to the top side and inner end expense. of the projection, as shown in Figs. 3, 4 vand 5. I accomplish this object by means of the con- A cam shaft 26, of the same diameter as'that 30 struction hereinafter described and illustrated of the bottom of said recess 25, is rotatably in the accompanying drawings, in which: mounted on the bottom thereof, and one side Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the latch and portion of said shaft, which'extends from its keeper mechanism embodying my invention. outer end to the face 24, is cut away to form Fig. 2 is a sectional View at line 2-2 of Fig. l. a recess 2l therein and an approximately radially 35 Fig. 3 is detail View at line 3-3 of Fig. l. disposed cam face or shoulder 28. The inner Figs. 4 and 5 are detail sectional views at line end portion 29 of shaft 26 is rigidly connected 4-5 of Fig. 2, showing the parts in different poto the middle of a ilat plate 3l),v which is located sitions. in close proximity to the inner side of the mid- 40 Fig. 6 is an elevation of a portion of the edge dle or bottom portion of the casing 20, and ex- 40 of the door. tends at each side thereof to form a. pair of op- Fig. '7 is a detail sectional view, at line 1-1 of pOSitelY extending arms, One 0f Which iS DTO- Fig, 6, vided with a rigid lug 3| and the other of which Figs. 8, 9 and 10 are detail views of different 1S DIOVided With a rigid 111g 32. 21S ShOWn in Figs.

portions of the latch operating means. 1, Zrand 8- A Square Shaft 34, having a han` 45 Figs. 11 and 12 are side views of the keeper dle 35 onits outer end externally of the door, member, showing the parts in different posiis mOunted in a bushing 36, which is rotatably tions. mounted in the outer side of casing 20 (see Fig. Figs. 13 and 14 are detail views of parts of the 2) and an arm 38 is rigidly connected to the keeper member. inner end of said shaft by a screw 39, said arm 50 In the drawings, a portion of a door I4 and having its end portion arranged to engage the its jamb I6 are indicated, and, as it will be unlug 3| on plate 30, so that when shaft 34 is roderstood that the door swings horizontally on tated by its handle 35, the shaft 26 Will be rohinges in the usual manner, further illustration tated to va, limited extent. v.

i A vertically movable latch member 40 is 55 ber is rigidly held against horisontal movement v relative te said projection and is guided mereby in its vertical movements, the sides of said pins each having a flattened portion to form r shoulders u, which are arranged to engage stop pins 4l fixed in the projection 2! (see Pia. '1)

to limit the upward movement of said latch member and provide a permanent connection with the projection 22. The `top surface 4t of the member Il is horisontal and extends for the length and width thereof and the under side of said member vIl has a transverse projection Il arrangement being such that when the partsv are in the position of Fig. 5 and the shaft 20 is then turnedto the position'of Fig. 4. pressure of face 2l against shoulder II will cause the latch member Il to be raised to the position of Fig. 4, in lwhich podtion the member will be rigidly supported by the shaft.

A coil spring il encircles shaft 20, and is connected at one end'thereto and at its other end to casing 2l, said spring acting to rotate said shaft in thevdirection ilrst to raise the latch rnember'from its lowest position, in which it rests on the face 2l of projection Il, to its highest positen, shown in Fig.;4, and to-continueJ-the rotation of said shaft untilvits shoulder 28- is carried for a substantial distance beneath the projection Il, this movement by spring Il being limited by a stop pin Il in casing 2l, which enf With this ar` gages arm l.. (See Fig. 10.) rangement it will therefore benecessary tcturn the handle II fully half the distance through which itk may be turned before the cam face 2l is moved past shoulder Il to permit the latch member to be lowered, vto the position of Fig. 5.

A supplemental meansis provided for operating shaft 2l from the inner side of the door, usually termed theremote control, which-comprises a dog 52, which is mounted on a pivot i3 in the inner side of casing 2l and is provided with an arm M which is arranged to engage the lug 32 on plate 3l. A link Il is connected to said latch by a pivot Il and has a handle I1 thereon which projects internally of the door, (see Figs. 2 and 9), so that whenthe link is pulled, the arm Il will swing the plate Il in the direction to rotate shaft 20 to permit the lateh member 4l. to be lowered. 'Ihe dog I2 is also provided with a tooth Il which, when the link 55 is pushed towards the edge of the door to its fullest extent, will extend beneath the under side of plate ll, so that if it should beattempted to turn the handle 3l, so as to lower the latch inem-` ber, this movement will be prevented. The dog 52 thus has three positions, viz, a locking position, shown in Fig. 9, an operating position in which it has acted to lower the latch member and an intermediate position in which operation by the exterior handle Il is permitted. Acoll spring I8 encircles the shaft Il and acts to hold door is closed, the rigidprojectien Ilrid `causing the latchv member to am ss amm wp pin u aen man rs u operated by the remote control ,means Il.

As shown in Figs. i0 and l1 thestriker member, which cooperates with the projection 2f and latch member 4l above dsscribed,comprises a rectangular shaped casing Il, which is set into the jamb, and is provided with a horiaontal supporting portion Il, having` a downwardly inclined outer end, so arranued that the under side of the Drolectionv!! :will engage said inclined end as the door ia`closed, and ride up on the same, so that, when the door is fully closed. it will be nrmlysupported thereon, and

rthe top face Il, of the latch membery Il, will thus be held at a predetermined level withrclation to the striker means now to be described.

A striker bar .Il is supported by a coll spring It whichisattachedtocasing Il andisheidina horiaontal position by a pair of rigid links I4, said links being of equal length and having rounded ends, which are set intocorrespondingly shaped recessesinthe topsideofthebarlfandinthe under side oi' the top'wall offcasing Il. By means of this arrangement the -bai'llisy permitted to swing in a predetermined path. inwardly from its initial position, shown in Fig. 11, in which the outermost end of the engages thefrontwall of the casing tl, to the position of Pig. 12, during which movement the under side of thebar is constantly held in parallel relation lwith the top side of the supporting portion i ofthe casing ll, both surfaces beingv horizontal, or extending` in the direction which the doorl swings. The under sideofthebarlfisprovidedwithaseriesof sharp teeth Il, which are arranged toeextend obliquely inward and downward,'withltheiredgcs` in a horizontal plane, and also with a single stop tooth 0l, which is spaced from the series of teeth, forapurposetobeexpiained. Thespring, which supportshar 02, is attached to `the casing at a point which is nearer theouter side ofthe ca'sin. thanfthe point at which it is attached to. thebar, so that, when the bar is swung inward, the spring will be stretched, and thm constantly acts to pull the bar outward, and, at the same time, through action of the links M,4 acts to force it downward.

With the abovedcscribed comtruction, when the door is open and the handle ll is released.

latch member Figs. 4 andil, and the strikerbar l! will be the position of Fig. 1l, in whlehita outer engaged with the outer side of casing I.` As

the inclined outer end of the casing bottom t2 andpushitinwardandwward tion 22 moves onto the horiaontal casing bottom, as shown in ll'lg.4 12. sition,theteethll ofbarareilrmly withthctopsm-faceoflatchmsmbsrtendency of the door to move towards open tionwillcausetheteeth lltobitsintotha surface of member, aothatthe resultingclutch action will hold kagainst any gli closed presenceofthespringmakesthsbarl! be nrmly'locked againstopening momnent ina 'u' ss I multiplicity of positions or in any of its closed positions, after the projection 22 passes onto the horizontal portion of the supporting portion 6| of the casing 60.

When the door ls to be opened, either handle 35 or 51 will be moved so as to rotate cam shaft 26 suiciently to permit the latch member 40 to move downward to the position of Fig. 5, so that the member will be disengaged from the striker bar. In case a. handle is moved by accident to a suflicient extent to turn the shaft 26 far enough to permit the latch member to be temporarily disengaged from the striker bar and thereby permit the door to move towards open position, if the handle is immediately released, the outer tooth 66 will engage in a notch 61, formed in the top surface of member 40, so that the door will be prevented from opening further, as indicated by the dotted line position of Fig. 12. The handle must, however, be moved to a considerable extent to turn the shaft 26 far enough to permit the member 40 to be lowered at all, It will be noted that the lowest position to which the bar 62 can move is indicated in Fig. 11, in which position the links 64 are perpendicular thereto and at which point further outward movement of the bar is prevented by its engagement with the front side of the casing. 'I'he member 40 is, of course, lowered sufficiently to be disengaged from bar 62 when in this position.

In practice the striker bar 62 is made of hardened steel, while the latch member 40 is made of comparatively soft steel, so that the teeth 65 will effectively bite into the surface of the latch member in the closed position of the door. The construction will, however, be operative if the teeth 65 were omitted, and the bottom surface of the bar made smooth.

With the above described construction, when the door is in closed position, the greater the tendency to force the door open, the greater will be the force of engagement of the striker bar with the latch member, so that all tendency to force the door open will be effectively resisted. The door will also be rmly locked against opening movement in any of its closed positions, after the projection 22 rides up on to the horizontal portion of the support 6I, in which position the/ door will be rigidly supported even though it has not been closed to the fullest extent possible.

I claim:

1. A keeper for use on the jamb of a door comprising a striker bar having a horizontally disposed face on its bottom side, a pair of rigid links pivotally engaged at their lower ends with said bar and at their upper ends with the jamb, the face of said bar Vbeing arranged for engagement with the top face of a latch member mounted on the door and said bar being arranged to move inwardly and upwardly when engaged by said latch member during the closing movement of the door, and being spring actuated to move oppositely to lock the latch member against outward movement, the downward and outward movement of said bar being limited to permit the latch member to be lowered out of engagement therewith.

2. A keeper for use on the jamb of a door comprising a casing, a pair of rigid links pivotally engaged at their upper ends with said casing, and having means at their lower ends arranged for engagement with the horizontally disposed top face of a latch member projecting from the door while held at a predetermined level, said links being arranged to swing inwardly from an approximately vertical position to permit closing movement of the door and being spring actuated to swing outwardly to cause a clutch engagement between said means and latch member by the thrust action of the links, to lock the door against opening movement.

3. A keeper for use on the jamb of a door comprising a casing having a horizontally disposed supporting face arranged for engagement by a rigid projection on the door, to support a latch member thereon with its top face at a predetermined level, a rigid link pivotally engaged at its upper end with said casing and normally depending approximately vertically therefrom directly over said supporting face and having means at its lower end arranged for engagement with the said top face of the latch member, said link being arranged to swing inwardly from its normal position when engaged by the latch member on closing movement of the door and being actuated to swing outwardly to cause a clutch engagement between its said means and said latch member top face, toV lock the door against opening movement while the latch member is supported at said level.

GEORGE W. WELLS. 

